Raymonda

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FEDORA
Van Cleef & Arpels
Prize for Ballet 2021
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12 / 11

Raymonda

United Kingdom
English National Ballet

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Raymonda Reimagined © English National Ballet i

Tamara Rojo’s new Raymonda – Celebrating the classics while evolving the artform

Presentation

In her first ballet as director and choreographer, Tamara Rojo, acclaimed ballerina and Artistic Director of English National Ballet, creates a new version of the classic story ballet Raymonda.

This adaptation keeps the best of the 19th-century original – its glorious and sensuous score by Alexander Glazunov and the classical choreography of ballet genius Marius Petipa – and updates it with a dramatic new narrative, introducing a heroine in command of her own destiny.

The story now takes place during the Crimean War in 1854. Raymonda is no longer a passive victim, but a young woman willing to act for what she believes in. Inspired by the pioneer Florence Nightingale, who founded modern nursing and went to Crimea to support soldiers, she defies her family and becomes a nurse on the frontline.

Embodying the tension between society’s expectations and individual desire; illustrating women’s historical struggle for independence and freedom; celebrating the courage of nurses (at a time where our reliance on them has never been greater); this new full-length ballet will make a classic relevant once again: the spirit of Raymonda will resonate with 21st-century audiences.